A Suffolk-based retail chain and brewer have joined forces to launch two new beers.

East Anglian Daily Times: Adnams has joined forces with the East of England Co-op to create two new beers. Pictured are Head Brewers Belinda Jennings & Fergus Fitzgerald; front L-R John Lynsdale, Adnams, and Kevin Warden, East of England Co-opAdnams has joined forces with the East of England Co-op to create two new beers. Pictured are Head Brewers Belinda Jennings & Fergus Fitzgerald; front L-R John Lynsdale, Adnams, and Kevin Warden, East of England Co-op (Image: Anglia Picture Agency)

Southwold-based Adnams has created a golden ale and a traditional pale ale exclusively for the East of England Co-op, which is based at Wherstead near Ipswich.

The beers are the latest additions in the Co-op’s own-label range of local products, marketed under its award-winning Sourced Locally brand, and will be available in every East of England Co-op store from Monday at £1.89 per bottle.

The Co-op sees the partnership as a coup as it is one of only two retailers in the UK to stock an own label ale from Adnams, the other being high street giant Marks & Spencer.

John Lynsdale of Adnams said: “This is a really natural partnership between two trusted businesses who together share a rich heritage, a commitment to serving local communities and a passion for the amazing food and drink in our region. We’re also companies that love to innovate and it’s been a pleasure to create these two wonderful ales which we’re sure customers of the Co-op will love.”

East Anglian Daily Times: Adnams has joined forces with the East of England Co-op to create two new beers. Pictured are Traditional Pale Ale and Golden AleAdnams has joined forces with the East of England Co-op to create two new beers. Pictured are Traditional Pale Ale and Golden Ale (Image: Anglia Picture Agency)

Developed by Adnams master brewer Belinda Jennings, the Golden Ale is described as “a crisp, clean, fruity beer, with aromas of mango, passion fruit and grapefruit” while the Traditional Pale Ale is “more malty and has the aromas of green, grassy British hops”.

Belinda said: “My aim was to produce two beers, very different in style, that link the traditional styles of British brewing to the more varied, modern beer world that we live in today.

“The Golden Ale is one my huge passions in the modern beer world, and for this recipe I used pale ale and Munich malts, and a flavoursome hop called Galaxy. With the Traditional Pale Ale I wanted to step back a few decades and so I based it on a recipe we used in the 1960s, using Goldings and Fuggles Hops.”

East of England Co-op local and fresh foods manager Kevin Warden said the society was “delighted” to be able to build on its partnership with “one of the most respected brewers in the country”.

“Our customers have long had the opportunity to buy Adnams’ bottled beers from our Sourced Locally range, and they are amongst our best-selling products,” he said. “Sourced Locally is all about enabling customers to enjoy the wonderful, high quality products that are made in their local area.”

Since Sourced Locally launched in 2007, the East of England Co-op says it has ploughed more than £25million back into the regional economy and supported the creation of around 400 new jobs. The range now extends to more than 2,400 products from 140 suppliers. Customers are also increasingly buying local with a 31% increase in Sourced Locally sales and a £12million turnover in the last year.